Bird species face a number of threats as they go about their daily lives. Foremost, they must be ever vigilant of predators of all sorts - other birds such as birds-of-prey like Great Horned Owls and Cooper’s Hawks - and a host of mammals, snakes, even fish in some cases! Layered on this are the significant and numerous threats posed by one specific mammal - Homo sapiens - that are adversely affecting birds, causing many species to decline, some dramatically. These suite of threats include: poisoning both intentional and incidental (oil spills); flying into wind turbines and power lines; destruction…

Seatuck submitted the following comment letter on the US Federal government proposed rule changes for the Endangered Species Act. September 24, 2018 Re: Proposed Changes to Endangered Species Act Rules The Seatuck Environmental Association is a member-supported, non-profit organization that works to advance the conservation of wildlife on Long Island, New York. Since incorporating in 1989 Seatuck has worked--through advocacy, education and research--to protect and conserve Long Island wildlife and the natural habitats on which they depend. On behalf of our thousands of members and supporters, we write to express our opposition to the proposed rule changes under the…

Purpose: We at Seatuck have initiateed a pilot program to collect waste Oyster shells from local restaurants and to use those shells to enhance the bottom sediment of the Great South Bayto allow for the reintroduction of native eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) populations. Background: In the mid-1890’s Long Islands South Shore was known as the “oyster capital” of the world. Blue Point Oysters were considered of the finest quality and were in the highest demand by consumers. However, by 1920’s they were decimated, mostly due to water pollution and over harvesting,…

One of the priority open space areas the Seatuck Environmental Association has been advocating protection of is “Hauppauge Springs”, a 42-acre area on the south side of Veterans Memorial Highway across from the Suffolk County Center. The area gets its name because of the water which “springs” or bubbles up from the aquifer here, beginning a surface flow that becomes the Nissequogue River. Thus, the Hauppauge Springs forms part of one of the headwaters to the Nissequogue River (the other is in the Village of the Branch to the east). The area contains extensive freshwater wetlands including two small ponds,…

Seatuck sent a copy of the following letter to every New York Senate Member, urging each to support the proposed legislation (Bill S8170) banning household use of high nitrogen fertilizer. April 16, 2018 New York State Senators Albany, New York 12247 Re: Letter Supporting Long Island Fertilizer Legislation A10276 and S8170 Dear Legislator: Seatuck Environmental Association, Inc. (“Seatuck”) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of Long Island wildlife and the natural environment on which…

August 14, 2017 Kim McKown NYS Department of Environmental Conservation Crustacean Unit Leader 205 N Belle Mead Rd, STE 1 East Setauket, NY 11733 Dear Ms. McKown: The Seatuck Environmental Association, ‘Seatuck’, is a Long Island-based not-for-profit conservation organization whose mission is to preserve native wildlife and the natural communities upon which they depend. To give focus to this effort Seatuck has developed a “Campaign for Wildlife” designed to safeguard, and in some cases restore, such iconic species as river herring, horseshoe crabs, diamondback terrapins, among others. I write to you in regard to this last species and the Department’s…

On January 1, 2018, a new Suffolk County Law took effect that establishes a 5-cent fee on disposable bags used at stores in Suffolk County. The fee’s purpose is to provide a financial incentive to motivate customers to move away from single-use paper and plastic bags and towards sturdy multi-use bags. These durable bags, which are made from a variety of materials such as cloth, heavy plastic, canvas and netting, can be used hundreds of times before wearing out. The reduction of single-use bags will not only save energy and reduce pressure on landfills and incinerators, it will also significantly…

Earlier this week, New York State Senator John Flanagan (R-Smithown, Current President and Majority Leader) introduced a bill (#6717) in the Senate Rules Committee that would void the 2016 Suffolk County legislation enacted to address the plastic bag problem. The Suffolk County law, which was crafted with broad stakeholder input and bipartisan support, imposed a 5-cent fee on plastic bags in an effort to curb their use and reduce the proliferation and negative impacts in the natural environment. Similar fees have produced well-documented bag use reductions in other parts of the country and around the world. Please call or write…

Earlier this year Seatuck sent the following letter to Governor Cuomo expressing outrage over the Port Authority's recent killing of coyotes at LaGuardia airport: The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo Governor of New York State NYS State Capitol Building Albany, NY 12224 RE: Coyotes on Long Island Dear Governor Cuomo: On behalf of the membership of the Seatuck Environmental Association – a non-profit organization dedicated to conserving Long Island’s wildlife and environment – we are writing to voice our outrage over the recent governmental killing of coyotes in New York City and our alarm about the unwise precedent it sets.…

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The river herring run at Parsonage Creek in Baldwin has been elusive in recent years. While we had anectodal evidence that it existed, we weren't able to document it until 2016. As the following video shows, our difficulty may have been the result of the run's preference for nocturnal migration. While river herring certainly migrate during the day in many instances, we have found that in some cases they prefer to move under the cover of darkness. There's little research on this question, but biologists think it may occur in situations with large concentrations of light-dependant predators, such as comorants…

Seatuck sent the following letter to Long Island's Congressional delegation today urging them to defend the important work of the EPA. It featured a list of 10 ways Long Island benefits from the agency's work. * * * * * February 16, 2017 The Honorable Charles E. Schumer United States Senate 322 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510 Dear Senator Schumer: On behalf of the members of the Seatuck Environmenal Association, we write to urge you, for the sake of all Long Islanders (and indeed people throughout New York State…

January 18, 2017 President-elect Trump has repeatedly said that he intends to be a President for all Americans. His appointment of E. Scott Pruitt to head the Environmental Protection Agency is a troubling sign that perhaps he didn’t have Long Islanders in mind. In countless ways, Long Island depends on the EPA to safeguard our quality of life by protecting our natural environment. EPA works to clean the air we breathe, which has consistently failed to meet air quality standards over the past decade. Future improvements are dependent on EPA’s ability to address pollution from power plants, automobiles and…